The city of Chicago spent millions of dollars and ten years putting in walkways, parks and boat ramps, drawing citizens to the banks of the Chicago River. But, even after holding public events to promote the new amenities, nothing has been done about the dirt

y water. 

 

“…Now, we need to make sure the water is safe,” the US EPA’s regional administrator, Susan Hedman, said. The Chicago River and it’s connecting waterways aren’t monitored because they are exempt from the city’s otherwise tough clean water provisions, and Chicago is the only US city that doesn’t disinfect the wastewater it dumps into the river. So it’s really dirty. It’s exempt from the clean water laws because it was always assumed that the waterways would not be used for recreation. 

 

The Federal EPA Threatens State EPA 

The US office of the EPA sent a letter to Illinois EPA with strong suggestions for cleaning up the water “as soon as possible.” The letter threatened that if the state of Illinois didn’t adhere to strict clean water laws soon that it would enforce them itself. It demanded that more strict standards be enforced in parts of the Chicago River, the Little Calumet River and the Cal-Sag Channel. 

 

Chicago residents are likely to see raises in their sewer bills to pay for the work needed to upgrade two water treatment plants to disinfect the waste water it treats. 

 

A spokesperson for the Illinois EPA said that the state is already trying to get disinfection equipment for the sewage-treatment plants and hopes to have them in operation within three years.